Michael Walter Daniel is one of the defendants in an alleged insider trading case brought on by the FMA, involving Rakon.
Former Rakon shareholder Mike Daniel is accused of sharing insider information over text and during a golf game in Auckland related to the failed $484m takeover of Rakon by Skyworks.
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) alleges Daniel obtained material inside information about the potential acquisition of Rakon and went
on to increase his shareholding by more than 1.2 million shares.
He is also alleged to have shared this information with individuals and companies who went on to purchase large amounts of shares.
The FMA has filed 20 charges against four individuals, mostly relating to insider trading offences at Rakon, against four individuals at the Auckland District Court.
Two of the defendants were granted interim name suppression, but Daniel and Paul Louis Smit did not seek suppression and entered pleas of not guilty yesterday.
Daniel was a vocal investor in Rakon and is a prolific and high-profile investor in NZX companies.
Privately owned Bourns’ $356 million takeover of Rakon became unconditional on May 1.
Daniel’s share of the company netted him more than $26m, and at the time of the transaction, he owned more than 7% of Rakon’s shares.
One of the men who has interim name suppression is facing nine charges relating to texting non-public information regarding the possible takeover of Rakon to Daniel.
Golf disclosure
Charging documents seen by BusinessDesk show that the FMA suspects Daniel committed the offences between October and December 2023.
The person who is alleged to have given Daniel the material information that was not available to the market is one of the men facing charges and has interim name suppression.
At a golf game at Wainui Golf Course, Daniel allegedly told Smit that Rakon was likely to soon receive a credible offer to acquire all its shares, on Dec 2, 2023.
The charge says he knew Smit was likely to trade or to advise or encourage others to trade or hold.
After receiving the inside information that Rakon “was likely to soon receive a credible offer to acquire all of its shares”, Smit is alleged to have acquired 16,000 shares in the company.
The FMA said Smit then acquired an additional 15,500 shares a few days later.
One of the men charged by the FMA, who has interim name suppression, is alleged to have texted Smit on Dec 7 to tell him to buy more shares in Rakon, and lent him $10,000 for the purchase.
Smit has been charged under sections 240(1), 241(1) and 244 of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013.
Share increase of 1.2M
Daniel increased his shareholding in Rakon, which was at the time NZX-listed, through four transactions through his companies Wairahi Holdings and Wairahi Investments.
Daniel allegedly aided, abetted or procured Wairahi Holdings to acquire 711,657 Rakon shares while holding inside information on Oct 31, 2023.
Daniel then allegedly disclosed inside information by text message to a person who also has name suppression, but is not facing charges, on Nov 11, 2023.
The text included information about the progress of discussions between a charged individual who has suppression and Skyworks Solutions Inc.
Wairahi Holdings allegedly acquired 270,360 shares, procured by Daniel on Dec 12, then allegedly acquired a further 158,213 shares, procured by Daniel, on or about Dec 13, 2023.
Both Wairahi Holdings and Wairahi Investments allegedly acquired a further 63,425 shares, procured by Daniel on Dec 14, 2023.
Daniel has been charged under sections 240(1), 241(1), 242 (1) and 244 of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 and s 66(1) of the Crimes Act 1961.
Suppressed matters
One of the charges relating to an individual with interim name suppression is completely suppressed.
The man is facing an additional nine charges, which BusinessDesk can report, relating to tipping non-public information regarding the possible takeover of Rakon to Daniel, knowing he was likely to trade Rakon shares or advise or encourage others to do so.
All the disclosures were allegedly made by text message, and each is described as building on earlier information about Rakon’s talks with Skyworks Solutions, Bourns and Kyocera.
‘Undermines trust’
News first broke of an investigation into potential insider trading of Rakon shares in August 2025.
FMA head of enforcement Margot Gatland said, “People need to be able to trust that our markets are fair.
“Insider trading undermines that trust and confidence, which is why tackling insider conduct is a priority for the FMA.”
Rakon is not the subject of the FMA’s investigation and is not a party to the proceedings.
The FMA said it cannot comment on the evidence, the identities of the other individuals, or other matters that could prejudice the proceedings.
‘Serious allegations’
On Thursday, Daniel said the charges related to the failed $484m takeover of Rakon by Skyworks.
He said he was working through the serious allegations carefully with legal advisers.
Rakon went public with the failed takeover offer on Dec 11, 2023.
In an NZX notice, the company said it had “become aware that the existence of the proposal may be known by some shareholders”, and therefore, had to disclose its existence.
It said that on Dec 7 it had received an unsolicited, non-binding indicative proposal (NBIO) from a credible industry player “with a view to entering discussions about a potential acquisition of all of Rakon’s shares”.
“The proposal is incomplete and highly conditional and, as a result, there can be no certainty that any transaction will eventuate. The proposal was confidential when received, and ordinarily, the receipt of a proposal at such an early stage would not require disclosure.”
Then, Rakon’s shares were trading at about 62 cents. The share price jumped to about $1.20 on news of the unsolicited bid.
A significant shareholder notice published on the NZX showed Daniel purchased Rakon shares in October and November, increasing his stake from about 5% to more than 6% before the bid was forced into the open.
In May 2025, BusinessDesk reported the takeover proposal for Rakon had failed because Nasdaq-listed semiconductor manufacturer Skyworks raised concerns about the firm’s compliance with US technology export controls.
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